Akatsuki Translations

Shizuku was singing and dancing in the air.

“【【【Sing, O Ice, and Pierce】】】”

She dodged the dragon’s fierce attacks as if dancing, using her staff she was manipulating as a foothold to walk in the air, casting spells at a breath’s pace. Between the spells, the dragonfang spear she controlled sliced through the dragon, finding gaps.

“【【【Sing, O Thunder, and Shoot Through】】】”

To an onlooker, it appeared as an acrobatic feat. As if gracefully dancing, she continued to toy with the raging flying dragon. It was hard to believe this was a magician’s battle. Even skilled warriors would hardly manage this.

“【Purple Flower Piercing Thrust】”

But even for a genius like her, this method of fighting was well beyond her limits.

The speed of her spell chanting, her material manipulation skills, every movement of her body that kept confusing the dragon, all were significantly beyond her set limits.

She knew this couldn’t last. In just a few more seconds, she would collapse.

『ＧＹＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡ！！！』

But before her limits were reached, the dragon, perhaps out of impatience, charged at Shizuku with its massive body. It was a reckless move. In a space as large as a dungeon, but not open to the sky, charging forward would surely result in hitting itself against something, sustaining damage. It was a desperate attack.

Shizuku could have still avoided it.

“The position is bad.”

If it weren’t for Ur and Lynne, who were critically injured and trying to save him, behind her.

If things continued as they were, Ur and the others behind her would be caught in the attack and die. Therefore,

“【Bone Core Transformation・Bone Wind Blade】”

『Ka! 』

She awakened her servant, the skeleton knight.

Sending her magic to the charred Rock, who was right underneath the charging dragon, she awakened him. His recovery was already complete. She had been keeping him inactive to stay off the dragon’s radar until the perfect timing.

『ＧＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡ！！？』

Suddenly, sharp bones burst upward from beneath, swirling around to tear through the dragon. Its charge was abruptly halted. The dragon and glanced ahead, it saw once more the skeleton knight, brandishing its sword in front of the detestable sorcerer

『HAHA! You always make me do the reckless stuff, master. 』

“I’m sorry, Rock-sama. But we’re in a dire situation.”

『In other words, it’s just another day, eh! 』

The skeletal knight leaped, sword raised high, smashing it into the dragon’s body.

『HAHAHAHAHA!! HOW ABOUT THAT, BLACK LIZARD! TOO SOFT!! 』

『ＧＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡ！！！』

For Rock, this was the second battle.

Though the previous encounter had been interrupted by Ur and the others, it was clear that Rock would have been defeated if it had continued. However, this time, Rock seemed to have the upper hand against the dragon. Of course, the dragon’s unusually hard―or rather, difficult to grasp, strange black scales impeded him, but Rock was clearly outmatching it in the number of attacks.

For the dragon, it was simply in a bad place. No matter where it looked—left, right, or ceiling—there were walls of flesh roots. No matter how splendid its wings were, there was little space for its massive body to move. A momentary flap of its wings could scrape the ceiling and throw off its balance.

Rock exploited these openings. If the skin was impenetrable, he would thrust his blade into its eyeballs or strike at its wings to disrupt its movement and knock it down.

“【【【O Flames】】】”

In the intervals, Shizuku followed up with her magic.

The battle situation was not bad. Rather, they were pushing forward. If they could keep this up, they seemed likely to at least buy enough time for Ur to recover.

But—

『Eh』

“Here it comes.”

Shizuku and Rock stopped simultaneously. The flying dragon had suddenly jumped backward.

“The breath.”

『Has no patience, does it? 』

They were preparing to face that devastating breath once again, the same one that had nearly annihilated the group before. Shizuku and Rock quickly moved back, close to Ur and the others. If they didn’t protect the three of them now, they would die.

“Rock-sama, please be careful not to destroy the core.”

『HAHA! Use me as you like, master! 』

Rock’s body transformed, once again turning into a barrier-like form. Shizuku readied herself behind Rock’s barrier, equipping the dragonfang spear in front of her, preparing for the dragon’s breath. The noise had ceased suddenly, replaced by silence—a calm before the storm of destruction that was about to come.

“————uuuuu…aaaaaah!!!”

Therefore, the fact that Echelle suddenly dashed out in that brief moment of silence caught Shizuku, Rock, and likely even the dragon off guard.

　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Ever since she was a child she had been reprimanded to never to use that.

“uh…uuuh…uuuuu”

It was dangerous, forbidden, a sin, evil.

Thus, she, too, was deemed flawed for considering its use, derided by her father.

So, she had sworn never to use that. She was dominated by the fear of being truly, utterly abandoned.

She had no allies. Not even in her family. Her parents, siblings, everyone looked at her as if she were a failure. Without a choice, she was ousted from her home to become a knight, and even there, she was treated as an outcast, further twisting her heart.

Yet, the significant duties commanded of her by her family were nothing but disasters.

“uuu…uuuuuu”

Beaten down, over and over again, she clung to what might have been a chance to turn things around. In hindsight, she did so in an utterly pitiful manner, so much so that being shaken off would have been justified.

However, in the end, the light she clung to proved unreliable, leading her to despair. Yet, beyond that, she found unexpected support.

―――― We’re comrades.

When Ur said that, she could never tell him how happy it truly made her. If she hadn’t furrowed her brow so hard, she probably would have cried.

―――― Well, if everything else fails, you can always come with us.

When she was about to be crushed by anxiety, continuing to sob and whine, the fact that he listened without a scowl and said those words was a shock to her, and she could hardly believe how happy it made her. No one in her life had ever told her it was okay for her to be there.

―――― If you think it’s dangerous, call for help. We’ll find a way to assist you.”

She couldn’t even scream for help, but he did help her. And now, he was dying to protect her.

“――――No.”

That was unacceptable. That was something she could not allow.

“UuuuuuuUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Before she knew it, a roar-like scream burst from her throat. Her body moved. She stepped into the midst of the deadly battle before her. It was a foolish charge, an act that would normally squander her life in vain.

But she was not normal. She never had been.

“【MIRALPHYYNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!】”

That name was one she had been forbidden to utter.

Her talent as a priest. The overwhelming 【blessing】 power lent to her by the spirits, beyond human comprehension. The blood of her office, passed down through generations, had endowed her with that talent.

But the spirit that had favored her was considered a heretic.

“LET EVERYTHING BEFORE MINE EYES BE REPELLEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!!”

The power of that spirit, reviled and called an “evil spirit,” was unleashed.

“———Ahhh……”

Ur woke up to a dull pain emanating from his body.

He was in a dimly lit, eerie place, not on a floor of flesh roots but on a simple yet soft bed. For a moment, he wondered if he had died and been summoned to the presence of the One and Only God, but the pain all over his body suggested otherwise.

Slowly sitting up, he saw the starry sky outside. It was night. And the fact that he could see the sky meant he was outside the dungeon. Glancing around in the light of the magic lantern, he saw Echelle sleeping using his knees as a pillow. Shizuku was asleep on a chair placed close by, and next to him on another bed, Lynne was also asleep, clutching her staff.

『HAHAH, you’re quite popular, Ur. 』

“I’m flattered, old man.”

And there, in a corner of the room where he had no need to sleep, Rock chuckled at Ur. With the unchanged demeanor of his comrades, Ur realized he had survived.